Author: Mike Hearn 2014-04-23 20:51:36
Published on: 2014-04-23T20:51:36+00:00
In an email exchange between Adam Ritter and an unknown recipient, the question of whether a faster blockchain could solve transaction problems was posed. The current 10 minute block time is said to be a balance between wasted work due to natural chain splits and latency. Faster block intervals can result in more forks and a longer time for convergence. Additionally, attacks become easier as attackers build on their own blocks and avoid propagation delays. While the 10 minute block interval is somewhat arbitrary, it is unlikely that a 5 second block interval would work. However, for optimal physical-world usability, payments need to be very fast, with a few seconds being competitive with modern credit cards.
Updated on: 2023-06-08T20:53:03.276542+00:00